LAY OF THE LAND

By Celia Cohen
Grapevine Political Writer

The filing deadline is a year away. Do the
Republicans know where their statewide candidates are?

Ha! If Delaware looks like a one-party state, the
Republicans are certainly doing their part. They are
woefully derelict in observing the fundamental law of
politics, you can't beat somebody with nobody,
and right now nobody is all they have.

Not that it is easy to find people to take on the
great wall of candidates whom the Democrats plan to be
fronting in 2012.

There is Tom Carper, running for re-election for
senator, just a race away from setting the record for
the most statewide wins ever at 13. There are the
re-election campaigns for John Carney for congressman,
Jack Markell for governor and Matt Denn for lieutenant
governor, who collectively have won nine times
statewide.

Oh, and insurance commissioner. The Democrats could
have a primary, what's-her-name against what's-his-name.
What's-her-name is the incumbent. Too bad it is so hard
to get voters to pay attention to this one, because it
really is important.

Perish the thought, but conceivably the only people
lining up to vote for insurance commissioner are Blue
Cross Blue Shield executives.

As if the Democrats' statewide lineup is not
formidable enough, Joe Biden will be dancing up there on
the presidential ticket. Not to mention this election is
shaping up as the last time ever for Delawareans to be
able to vote for him.

Forty years it has been. Sayonara, Joe. We heartily
knew ye.

While the voters can be forgiven if they think it is
too early to care about the election, it is different
for the politicians. Both money and name recognition
need to be raised, particularly for challengers setting
their sights on the likes of Tom Carper, who already is
sitting on upwards of $1.5 million, or Jack Markell, who
came up with $4 million to get himself elected governor.

One well-placed Republican conceded it would take $3
million or $4 million and two years to mount a serious
campaign against Carper. That window already has closed.

The Republicans have nobody but themselves to blame
for their depleted condition. They had a beautiful
chance in 2010 with open races for the Senate and House
of Representatives, but they did themselves in with
primaries.

Tea Partiers overwhelmed the regulars, Christine
O'Donnell stunning Mike Castle for the Senate and Glen
Urquhart upending Michele Rollins for the House of
Representatives.

The statewide electorate is like Goldilocks -- not
too left, not too right -- so it predictably turned to
the Democrats and made Chris Coons a senator and John
Carney a congressman. Tea parties in Delaware are better
left to afternoons at the Hotel du Pont, not politics.

The Republicans have their share of catching up to
do.

"It is far too early for me to tell you who the
statewide candidates are," said John Sigler, who took
over in April as the Republican state chair. "We are
looking at these things. We're all focused on one thing
-- ending one-party rule in Delaware."

The Republicans have Reince Priebus, their national
chair, coming here Aug. 20 to Sussex County for a picnic
that Sigler says will begin a party-building effort
called "Operation Win Back Delaware."

It should be a good place for potential statewide
candidates to roam. Kevin Wade, who was briefly in the
2010 mix for the congressional nomination, acknowledges
he is looking at the Senate. So might Urquhart, newly
elected as the Sussex County Republican chair, although
he is being cagey.

Another name being mentioned, perhaps for the
congressional race, is Tom Kovach, who won a special
election in January for New Castle County Council
president.

It is all so vague. The picnic is another month away,
another month closer to the filing deadline. In
politics, it gets late early.